


Not Like Other Girls

by dotpng



Category: Halt and Catch Fire
Genre: F/F, Insert dressing room montage here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 07:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8240434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotpng/pseuds/dotpng
Summary: Cameron finds a friend where she least expects it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> No more sadness... only shopping.
> 
> (send me requests/prompts at honestfutures.tumblr.com!)

Cameron didn’t see her, at first. She was just sifting through the flowery fabrics on the rack, trying to find something that wouldn’t look too ridiculous, when she heard a high-pitched squeal. “Cameron? That you?” She looked up to see brown eyes and a dimpled grin beaming at her over the rack of dresses. Oh, God.

“Uh, yeah. Hey, Debbie.” She smiled weakly, already wondering how she could get out of this conversation. The last thing she wanted right now was someone from work getting all judgy, especially Debbie, with her blouses and press-on nails. Today the nails were pastel pink, she noted, as Debbie skirted the rack and grabbed her arm. “Fancy bumpin’ into you here!” Jesus, that girl was excitable. “I just would’ve thought this store wasn’t, you know,” she bit her lip and looked around, “wasn’t quite your style.”

“Oh! Yeah, no, don’t get me wrong, it’s totally not,” Cam said, laughing a little. “I just figured, now that I’ve got a job and all, maybe I’ll need to show up to some fancy work thing sometime, and,” she gestured down at herself, “the overalls aren’t gonna cut it.” When Joe and Gordon had suggested it, she’d just told them to fuck off, but eventually Boz had veered in to try and tactfully convince her, and she’d just given up. Hell, with the money they were paying her, it wasn’t like she couldn’t afford a few shitty dresses. “So, uh. Can you let go of my arm.” 

Debbie widened her eyes and dropped it like she’d been burnt. “Oh, sorry! I was just wondering...” she hesitated, “D’you want some help?” When Cameron just stared at her, she rushed to clarify, “Not like you don’t know how to shop, or anything! You don’t have to if you don’t wanna. Just, my girlfriends couldn’t make it today, and since we’re both here… it could be fun, right?”

“Uh…” Cameron grimaced, then looked down at the shirt she was holding. At least, she thought it was a shirt; it had sleeves, that much was obvious, but what she assumed was the front was made up of separate panels, and there was a piece on the neckline she was pretty sure was supposed to be tied somewhere. Probably. And she’d expected condescension, but Debbie did sound pretty genuine...

She looked up and took a deep breath. “Actually, that sounds great.”

Debbie’s whole face lit up and she immediately started looking through nearby racks. “Fantastic! So, first we’re gonna need to get you somethin’ versatile, a nice jacket goes with anything and I’d imagine you want something that’s no fuss. You do own a bra, right?” She stopped and glanced up at Cam. “Mercy, you’re tall. What size do you wear?”

Cameron considered her shoplifted boys’ Star Wars tee and oversized army surplus overalls. “Uh.. Not sure.

“Well, never mind. I can eyeball it. C’mon then, we’ve got work to do.” She grabbed her hand and half-led, half-dragged her further into the store, leaving her wondering what the hell she’d gotten into.

Ten minutes later, Debbie pushed her into a stall with a heaping pile of clothes. “Go on now, I’ll be out here if you need any help.” The door clicked shut and Cameron was left alone with her jumble of outfits. Well. This couldn’t be that bad, could it? She shimmied into the Debbie’s first pick, a tweed skirt suit with a pink blouse, and made a face at herself in the mirror. Yikes. Okay, it could be that bad. She looked… weird. Off. 

“Cameron, you done?” Reluctantly she opened the door and stepped out. Immediately Debbie pulled a face. “Uh... Let’s try something else.”

And she did. Again. And again. After several outfits, each one feeling more stiff and awkward than the last, Cameron sighed. “Deb, no offense, but this isn’t working. I don’t know, maybe business casual... just isn’t my thing?”

“Hm.” Debbie tapped her finger against her cheek. “No, you know what? I know what the problem is. This isn’t  _ you _ . This is...” She frowned. “It’s what  _ I’d _ wear. You need something more...” A pause. “Wait here.” And she left, leaving Cameron standing there trying to smooth out the frilly bits on her shirt. After a few minutes, she was back, and shoved an armful of fabric at Cameron. “Ok, try this,” said Debbie, slightly out of breath.

Cameron looked at it dubiously. “Fine, but this is it,” she said, and walked back into the stall. At this point any enthusiasm she’d started out with had evaporated, but at least this was softer than the other things she’d tried on so far, and instead of tacky nudes and pastels it was a dark charcoal gray. She yanked off the skirt and top she had on and dumped them on the floor, then unfolded the new outfit- apparently a dress- and pulled it on. When she reached back for the zipper, though, she couldn’t quite make it. “Damn it.”

“Need some help?” Debbie called out. 

Cameron could see the tips of her shiny pink heels under the door. She undid the latch and poked her head out. “Yeah, can you zip me up?”

“Yup!” She heard Debbie step in behind her, then felt her put a hand on her shoulder to steady the fabric as she pulled the zipper up. Finally, she looked up at her own reflection in the mirror and raised her eyebrows. Damn. Pretty classy. Except for the striped socks on her feet.

Debbie popped her head out from behind Cameron’s back and gasped. “Oh, honey, you look beautiful!”

She was right. The dress was a flattering faux wrap kind of thing, cinched at the waist. It wasn’t tacky at all. And it was  _ comfortable _ . “Holy shit, Debbie. I’ve gotta hand it to you; nice job.”

Debbie clapped her hands. “Ok, now twirl.”

Cameron just stared at her. “What, are you serious?”

“Yes! Haven’t you ever twirled in a skirt before?”

“Uh, they’re not really my thing.”  _ Usually. _

“Well there’s a first time for everything.” Debbie crossed her arms and looked at her sternly. “Twirl.”

_ Jesus, fine. _ Feeling silly, Cameron spun around once, twice, slowly at first and then faster and faster. “Isn’t it fun?” said Debbie, giggling. It was; it was like being a kid again, getting dizzy just for the feeling. She opened her mouth to say so-

And that was when her socks slipped on the floor and she tumbled out of balance. “Oh, fuck!” She reached out to grab onto something, but only managed to rip several tops off the hangers. She squeezed her eyes shut as she fell and- slowly, she opened her eyes, and Debbie smiled. “Caught ya.”

Cameron blinked. “I…” Debbie’s hair fell in a curtain around both their faces. It smelled nice- coconut or something. She felt a flush creeping onto her face. “Thanks.”

Suddenly there was a voice outside. “Excuse me, is there a problem in there?” The door swung open on a middle-aged employee, looking at them with an irritated look on her face. Cameron’s blush only got hotter as she realized how silly they must look; her too tall frame half-collapsed in the dressing room, Debbie’s arms around her waist. With as much dignity as she could muster she straightened back up and yanked her dress into place. “There’s no problem here.”

The woman just kept staring at her, unimpressed. “You ladies are making quite a ruckus in there. You do know we have a one person per changing room policy?”

“We’re awfully sorry if we caused any trouble-” Debbie started.

“No no no, hang on. We’re customers, asshole. Can you just get off our ass and let us shop?” 

“Well,” the employee lowered her voice. “You can’t both be in there. It’s our policy to prevent... inappropriate behavior in the dressing rooms.”

Cameron laughed. “Oh, okay, so you think we were making out in there or something? Seriously?”

Beet-red, Debbie stepped in. “Listen, like I said, we’re awful sorry and my friend and I’ll be leaving now, so,” she stared expectantly at Cameron, “Cam? You comin’?”

Cameron rolled her eyes, shut the door and changed quickly. The whole time she could hear the woman’s foot tap-tapping on the tile floor right outside. She didn’t bother to hang all the clothes back onto the hangers; let that bitch clean it up. When she finished, she opened the door and smiled sarcastically at her. “The lesbians are leaving! Happy?”

The employee pressed her lips together. “I’m going to have to check your bag for stolen items.”

“Alright, now that’s enough.” Cameron turned to see Debbie standing there, hands on her hips. “I’m a longtime shopper and membership card holder and I’m going to ask you to stop disrespecting my friend before I take my business elsewhere.”

“Ma’am,” the woman hesitated, “it’s just policy-”

“To hell with your policy,” Debbie huffed and locked arms with Cameron. “Let’s go.”

She just raised her eyebrows. _Damn._

Once they were outside, Debbie sighed. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to buy that dress.”

“Oh hey, don’t worry about that,” Cameron said, smiling, and unzipped her duffel bag to show her. “I got it.”


End file.
